Loom reed



April 12, 1955 LA VERNE A. MATTHEWS 2,705,977

LOOM REED Filed (Jet. 15, 1953 INVENTOR. LAVERNE' A. MATTHEWS ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent LOOM REED La Verne Allen Matthews, Barrington, R.L, assignor to Excelsior Loom Reed Works, Inc., a corporation of RhodeIsland Application October 15, 1953, Serial No. 386,216

3 Claims. (Cl. 139-192) This invention relates to reeds suitable for usein the shedding mechanism of looms. The invention is particularlyconcerned with a type of reed which is used to beat up the filling inthe weaving process and which controls the warp threads that passbetween the dents thereof. In prior art construction, when several warpends pass between a pair of dents, there is a tendency for theindividual warp ends to stick together, which is thought to be caused bythe particular size used in the yarn. Thus when the reed beats up thecloth, the warp ends that are stuck together will tend to streak thefinished cloth. Warp streaks are also thought to be caused by theseparation of the drop wires and harness and it is quite common for thestreaks of warp ends to stay in the same relation to each other from theback of the loom to the finished cloth. Furthermore, a common cause ofwarp streaks results from the reed itself due to unequal spacing betweenthe dents.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of the present invention to preventthe warp ends from sticking together.

It is a further object of the invention to shake the warp ends back intoproper spacing, due to separations of drop wires and harness.

A still further object of the invention is to overcome improper spacingof dents ordinarily mounted in a perpendicular position.

A more specific object is to slant the dents from a perpendicular to anoffset position so the warp ends will tend to be rolled or wagged by theslanting dents, as these warp ends pass up and down in the reed and areforced first to the left and then to the right.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a reed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a partial plan view on an enlarged scale, showing theheading end of the reed;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing theseparating springs and spacer rods holding the dents in position; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Figure 3, showing apreferred shape of the dents.

According to the present invention, the reed comprises a plurality ofdents, which are slanted with respect to the backs of the reed, thedents being spaced from each other in the backs or lengthwise directionof the reed to allow for the free passage of threads between the dents.The individual dents are spaced in the usual manner by means of spacersor springs near the ends thereof and are held under a great amount oftension so that the separation between the adjacent dents will remainuniform under the stress of the various warp ends tending to bend thedents. By slanting the dents, more uniformity of space between dents canbe accomplished.

With reference to the drawings, generally designates a reed according tothe invention, which is built up from a plurality of dents 11. The dents11 are assembled between two backs 12 which each comprise two strips ofmaterial 12a, 12b that form a space therebetween. The ends of the dents11 are held within the hollow portion of the backs by means of solder13,

as shown in Figure 3. The requisite spacing of the dents is attained byfitting near each end of the dents and adjacent the backs helicallycoiled wires 14 and 15. The pitch of the coils 14 and 15 is equal havingbeen adjusted to the desired value in the manufacturing process andsemi-circular spacer rods 16 are placed between the edges of the dents11 and the circular section of the coils 14 and 15 so as to hold theedges of the dents in parallel relationship.

The dents 11 are formed of thin steel strips of about one quarter inchin width, the thickness of the dents being small so as to provide amaximum amount of space between the dents for thread movement. Anextremely smooth surface is imparted to each individual dent so as notto endanger the individual warp ends or filaments and the dents are heldbetween the backs 12 under considerable tension, so that there is littleif any flexibility in the individual dents. Specially shaped oval wiredents, as shown in Figure 4, are preferably used to prevent cutting thewarp ends as they are moved from one side to the other. As shown inFigures 1 and 2, the complete reed structure additionally includesheadings 18 which are secured between the strips 12a, 12b of the backs12 by means of suitable fastenings such as rivets 20 and include aslanted edge 19, which conforms to the degree of slant imparted to theindividual dents 11. Specifically, it has been found that if the slantis between and V from the perpendicular, good results may be had. In apreferred method of assembly, the dents are placed between the backs ina perpendicular relationship and then slanted. As is readily apparent,this effectively tends to tighten the dents over further for a fixedback spacing and effect a more regular spacing over a longer period oftime before the dents stretch sufficiently to become loose.

Warp ends pass betweenadjacent dents with perhaps two or three warp endsbeing contained in each space, depending upon the type of cloth beingwoven. As the reed moves forward in the loom to beat up the filling leftby the passage of the shuttle, the slanted relationship of the dentswill tend to roll the warp ends by moving the individual warp ends upand down between the individual dents. This action tends to wag the warpends and separate them should there be any tendency for the ends tostick together. As will be readily apparent, the up and down movement ofthe individual warp ends between the dents will cause a relativesidewise movement between the individual warp ends rel ative to theharness which wags the individual ends eliminating any necessity ofmanual correction by the loom operator.

I claim:

1. A reed for a loom, said reed having backs and headings, a pluralityof parallel dents between said backs, .the longitudinal extent thereofbeing disposed at an oblique angle to said backs and spaced apart in afixed relationship to allow threads to pass therebetween.

2. A reed as in claim 1 wherein said dents have an oval cross section.

3. A reed for a loom comprising two parallel spaced backs, a pluralityof parallel dents arranged at an oblique angle lengthwise of the dentswith reference to a longitudinal vertical plane passing through saidbacks, said dents being spaced apart in a fixed relationship to allowthreads to pass therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS534,229 Reixach et a1. Feb. 12, 1895 696,325 Gable Mar. 25, 1902 921,236Gourdeau May 11, 1909 1,686,448 Hargrove et a1. Oct. 2, 1928 2,048,001Fish July 21, 1936

